The Quick Read: On a non-warrantable condo, both lender types lend well below the full price, and the ceiling depends on loan size and the building’s defect. A non-QM program tends to fit mid-seven-figure files, while a bank portfolio program takes over as loan size climbs. Through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting, most files land between 55% and 80% of price.
- A non-warrantable condo caps at 80% LTV (loan-to-value, the loan as a share of price) on a purchase through the programs in Lendmire’s network, even where the loan-size ladder would allow more.
- The non-QM bank-statement program carries loans to $6,000,000. A bank portfolio program carries twelve-month-statement files to $30,000,000.
- Every loan above $4,000,000 is reviewed case by case before submission, so the printed leverage is a ceiling and never a promise.
- Qualification runs on deposits, assets, or a profit-and-loss statement, not traditional personal-income documentation, subject to lender guidelines.
Here is the honest answer on who each option is really for. A non-QM program suits the self-employed founder, physician, or attorney whose traditional personal-income documentation understates cash flow and whose loan lands in the low-to-mid seven figures. A bank portfolio lender suits the larger loan, or the borrower with deep assets and a relationship that a bank will weigh. Neither is “better.” The building’s problem, the loan size, and your documents decide which door opens.
“Luxury” has no formal threshold in lending. What matters is that a high price pushes the loan amount up the size ladder, and leverage steps down as it climbs.
Side-by-Side
Lendmire’s wholesale network places both kinds of files. The non-QM column reflects the network’s portfolio non-QM bank-statement program. The portfolio column reflects published industry norms for banks that hold their own loans, plus the network’s bank portfolio program where noted.
| Factor | Non-QM program | Portfolio bank |
|---|---|---|
| Review basis | Bank-statement deposits, P&L, or assets | Full financial picture, often relationship-driven |
| Documentation | 12 or 24 months of statements | Often full docs; 12 months on the network bank program |
| Size ceiling | $6,000,000 | Up to $30,000,000 on the network bank program |
| Who sets project rules | Program guidelines | The institution, case by case |
| Entity vesting | Depends on program terms | Varies; individuals are common |
| Reserves | 3, 6 or 9 months by loan size | Set by the bank; often asset-weighted |
| Reach | Placed by brokers across footprints | Often local or regional footprint |
Notice what the table does not show: price. Pricing varies by file and lives outside this comparison.
Key Terms Defined
Non-warrantable condo: a condo whose project, meaning the HOA, building, or ownership mix, fails agency eligibility rules, even when the borrower and unit are strong.
Non-QM loan: a mortgage that sits outside standard agency underwriting and is reviewed around alternative documentation, such as bank statements.
Portfolio lender: a bank or credit union that keeps the loan on its own books and sets its own criteria. Portfolio loans are the usual product for non-warrantable condos, though that can vary by lender, so treat it as general context.
Reserves: liquid money you hold after closing, counted in months of housing payments.
Case-by-case review: a manual look at the whole file before it goes to a lender, used on larger loans.
“Portfolio” and “Non-QM” are not opposites. “Portfolio” describes who holds the loan. “Non-QM” describes how it is underwritten. A loan can be both, one, or neither.
Why the Building Is the Real Gatekeeper
Both lender types start with the project, not you. Agency rules treat project review as the default. Fannie Mae‘s Selling Guide section on waivers of project review shows waivers are narrow. That is the contrast: a non-QM or portfolio lender writes its own project rules, and agency rules do not govern these files.
Even so, lenders still send the HOA a condo questionnaire. It asks about the owner-occupant versus investor mix, units held by one owner, litigation, budget and reserves, master insurance, special assessments, delinquencies, rental restrictions, and hotel-style features.
Why a project fails matters more than the fact that it fails. A building with heavy investor ownership and a clean budget is a different file from one with litigation and deferred repairs. Many programs tolerate one defect and decline two stacked together. Confirm which single issue made the condo non-warrantable before you fall in love with the unit.
Agency standards also shift. The rules change over time, so a building’s status can change too. A new investor buying into your building can push the project over a threshold after you close.
How Much Each Lender Actually Lends
Start with the non-QM side, because the numbers are most concrete there. Across the network, the portfolio non-QM bank-statement program carries loans from $300,000 to $6,000,000. A bank portfolio program picks up above $4,000,000, overlaps to $6,000,000, and stands alone from there to $30,000,000.
A non-warrantable condo is capped at 80% LTV on a purchase through select wholesale programs. A warrantable condo can reach 85%. Condotels, meaning hotel-style operations, take 75% on a purchase and 65% on a cash-out, and 50% on the bank program. Leverage, reserves, and pricing vary by lender and program; the final terms follow the full file review.
Below is the primary-residence purchase ladder with the 80% condo cap applied. Every figure is a ceiling through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting.
| Loan size | Purchase ceiling | Credit for this leverage | Program |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2M–$3M | 80% | 720+ | Portfolio non-QM |
| $3M–$3.5M | 75% | 720+ | Portfolio non-QM |
| $3.5M–$4M | 75% | 760+ | Portfolio non-QM, super-jumbo overlays |
| $4M–$5M | 65%, on review | 680+ | Bank portfolio |
| $5M–$10M | 60%, on review | 680+ | Bank portfolio |
| $10M–$30M | 55%, on review | 680+ | Bank portfolio |
Read the credit column carefully. It is the score that band’s top leverage needs, not a program floor. The floors are 660 on the portfolio non-QM program, 680 on the bank program, and 700 above the super-jumbo line. A lower score takes a lower leverage cell inside the same band.
Notice that once the bank program takes over above $4,000,000, its leverage steps down from 65% to 60% to 55% as the loan grows, as the table shows. Below $2,000,000, the 80% condo cap applies to a non-warrantable unit, and the ladder’s higher cells for warrantable condos do not.
Second homes and investment properties run on their own ladders. On an investment property, a non-warrantable condo purchase with a loan in the $2M–$2.5M band tops out at 80% with 720+ credit. Further up, the investment ladder diverges from the primary one, so take every figure from the occupancy’s own ladder rather than subtracting from the primary figure. Second homes are one-unit only.
A bank portfolio lender outside the network will set its own numbers. Published industry norms put non-warrantable condos at stricter leverage than warrantable ones, but each institution decides. That is the nature of a portfolio loan.
A Worked Example at the Luxury End
Run the numbers on a $2,400,000 non-warrantable condo bought as a primary residence. The bands are loan amounts, so start with the leverage. At the 80% condo cap, the loan lands in the $1.5M–$2M band. There the primary-residence ladder allows 85% on a purchase at 720+ credit, but the condo cap holds it to 80%. Through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting, that is the ceiling. Terms vary by lender guidelines, property type, leverage, credit profile, and full file review.
Now take a borrower seeking a $4,500,000 loan on a non-warrantable condo with the same defect. The file sits in the $4M–$5M band, where the bank portfolio program’s ladder shows 65% on a purchase, reviewed case by case. The portfolio non-QM program’s overlays also apply above $3,500,000: a 700 credit floor, a 0x30x24 housing history, and 48-month seasoning on any credit event. Cash-out proceeds cannot satisfy reserves.
The pattern is the point. On the larger file, the same borrower brings a much larger down payment as a share of price. Plan your equity before you tour units.
When Non-QM Is the Better Fit
Non-QM tends to win when the loan sits in the low-to-mid seven figures and your traditional personal-income documentation tells the wrong story. The qualification path is deposits. Across the network, the program counts 12 or 24 consecutive months of personal or business bank statements. Business statements need at least 25% ownership.
Qualifying income is eligible deposits divided by the statement months, after an expense ratio. Fixed ratios run 20% for a service business with no employees, 40% for one to five employees, and 50% for six or more employees or any product business. An accountant-provided ratio is also an option. A profit-and-loss method is capped at 80%. Transfers from your own business into a personal account count at 100%.
Credit starts at a 660 floor, debt-to-income runs up to 50%, and reserves are 3 months to $500,000, 6 months to $1,500,000, and 9 months above. Add 2 months per additional financed property, up to 12, and 12 months for first-time investors.
Two asset paths help borrowers whose deposits look uneven. Asset allowance divides liquid assets by 36, 60, or 84 months to create qualifying income. Assets-only needs liquid assets equal to the loan plus closing costs. Retirement accounts count at 70%, or 80% at 59.5 and older. Business funds, gifts, and cryptocurrency never count.
On cash-out, proceeds are unlimited at or below 60% LTV, with a $1,500,000 cash-in-hand cap above 60% on the portfolio program. Remember the condo cap still applies on a non-warrantable unit. Exact terms depend on the lender’s guidelines, property type, leverage, and a full review of the borrower’s file.
If your property throws off rental income rather than serving as your home, Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide explains the alternative path, where the loan is reviewed primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Luxury condo dues are high, though, and they count in your monthly housing obligation.
When a Portfolio Lender Is the Better Fit
A bank portfolio lender tends to win in three situations. The first is a loan above the non-QM program’s $6,000,000 ceiling. The bank program carries files to $30,000,000, always reviewed case by case above $4,000,000.
The second is a borrower with a large liquid balance and a long banking history. A bank that holds the loan can weigh that relationship in ways a matrix cannot. The third is a building whose defect a bank is willing to underwrite on its own judgment, after reading the HOA financials.
The network’s bank program uses twelve months of statements, with a 680 credit floor, and interest-only to 60% LTV through five- and seven-year fixed-period adjustables. A ten-year fixed-period adjustable is fully amortizing. Cash-out has no published cap on that program, though leverage drops with size. Every figure here varies by lender and program: guidelines, property type, leverage, and credit profile all apply.
Industry norms show a few trade-offs. A local bank may offer relationship flexibility, but many banks lend only to individuals or require personal guarantees. Vesting in an LLC may be possible on some investment files, depending on program guidelines. A bank can also decline for reasons no matrix shows, such as concentration in its own book.
Where Each Lender Type Typically Lands on a Defect
This is a qualitative guide from broker experience across many programs, not a promise. Programs differ, and each file is reviewed individually.
- Heavy investor ownership alone: often workable on either side, with leverage held at the condo cap.
- Investor concentration plus litigation: often reviewed manually, and sometimes declined.
- Structural or safety litigation: generally a harder stop than routine litigation.
- Hotel-style operation: treated as a condotel on the network, with lower ceilings, and excluded by some programs.
- Thin HOA reserves or deferred maintenance: a bank may weigh it against your assets, while a program may decline outright.
Exit and Refinance Risk
A non-warrantable unit has a narrower buyer pool, which can affect resale. Plan your exit before you buy. A later refinance will likely also be a non-agency loan, because the project issue follows the building. Run the monthly dues into your own budget as part of the housing payment, since luxury buildings often carry heavy dues.
The Balanced Verdict
Choose non-QM when your loan is in the low-to-mid seven figures, your income runs through business deposits, and you want a published matrix you can test before you make an offer. Choose a portfolio bank when the loan is larger, your assets are deep, or the building’s defect needs a human judgment call.
A broker can screen both channels at once, because the right fit depends on which defect the project has. If you are financing a high-balance property on business or personal bank statements and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare super jumbo bank statement loan options based on your deposits, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Consumer bank-statement lending is licensed in 16 states: AL, CA, CO, FL, GA, IN, MI, MT, NM, NC, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, and WA. Nothing here is a commitment to lend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a portfolio lender the same as a non-QM lender?
No. Portfolio describes who holds the loan, and non-QM describes how it is underwritten. A bank can hold a non-QM loan, so one loan can be both. A loan can also be neither, as with an agency-eligible loan that a lender decides to keep.
What is the highest leverage on a non-warrantable condo?
Through select wholesale programs, subject to full underwriting, a non-warrantable condo caps at 80% LTV on a purchase. That cap applies even in bands where a warrantable condo could go higher. Above $4,000,000, the figure is lower and reviewed case by case. Final terms depend on lender guidelines, property type, leverage, and the borrower’s complete credit picture.
Can I borrow more if the condo is a luxury unit?
No. The price does not change a building’s warrantability. A higher price pushes the loan up the size ladder, where leverage steps down. Larger loans also get closer manual review.
Do lenders still review the condo project on a bank-statement loan?
Yes. Lenders send the HOA a questionnaire and review the budget, insurance, and litigation. Qualifying on deposits changes how your income is documented, not how the building is judged.
Can a lender say no even when my profile is strong?
Yes. A project with stacked defects, or one above a program’s tolerance, can be declined. Every file is underwritten individually, and a ceiling in a table is never a commitment.
Lendmire’s self-employed mortgages page presents both super jumbo programs, bank statement and DSCR, side by side.
About Lendmire
Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a mortgage broker licensed for consumer lending in 16 states. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Fannie Mae
This article is part of Lendmire’s super jumbo bank statement loan program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: How to Buy a Non-Warrantable Condo With an SBLOC Then Super Jumbo Out · Do Super Jumbo Non-QM Programs Offer a 40-Year Term? · How Much Down Payment Does a Penthouse With a Bank Statement Loan Need?
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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Required disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) operates as a licensed mortgage broker, not a direct lender or depository. The discussion in this article is general in nature and should not be relied upon as financial, legal, or tax advice — every investment scenario is unique and should be reviewed by a qualified professional. Any loan inquiry is subject to lender underwriting, and this article is not a commitment to lend or a guarantee of approval. Mortgage rates, loan terms, and program guidelines vary by borrower, property, and state, and may change without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity. Verify licensure at NMLS Consumer Access.